Mechanical brick press



Filed Jan. 25, 1928 Invnkor. 6881011 {98 201 Patented Aug. '25, 1 3i A UNITED PATENT f oFF-lfic-E easzro v BIGAUXQOEJUMETY, BELGIUM I MECHANIQAL'BR'ICK PRESS.

. Application n1edianuary25, 192s, Serial is; 249337, andin'B elgium' February 5, 1927.

My present invention relates {to improvements in the well known mechanically operatedbrick and'like presses", in which the clay to be pressed is introduced into feed-hoppers, whence the same is automatically'brought into moulds. and finally automatically dis- 7 charged from theflatter as finished products. I

means for advancing as fthe cutters scrape clay from the front'of a ditch formed by the 1 machine, said clay excavating mechanism being vcombined with mechanical brick-' presses'or the like for automatically treating the clay im ediately'after it being cut down. The object of myinvention is toprovlde an'improved control mechanism for the cutv 2 ters, said cuttersbeing submitted to'two' distinct and independent motions; according to .my invention the cutters are mountedso as 'to move laterally towards the clay wall and then downwardly in a vertical direction, in-

versely' laterally away from the wall andv then upwardly in a vertical direction. Also the control mechanism is so arranged that the displacement 'of the cutters in ythe vertical direction maybe of great amplitude comparatively to the lateral displacementof' the same. Another object of my invention is torprovide means whereby all the p clay scraped F down I from the walli of clay is automatically con veyed'togthefeed hoppersof I p the brick-press 0r presses ofthe"machinei* i Therefore my invention consists in com; bining the Well known Inechani'c'allyoperated brick presses with: an impro'veddeviceifor'.

breaking down clay,'which will be directly I Figa'lfis the-front elevat-ion oflthe autoi brought into the feed hoppers off'the fpress' by'means of an automaticclayf-eeding device.

The improved clay cutting and conveying device's operated" .by' the drive-shaft of the engine is illustratedbyway'of example in the accompanying 1drawi ngs'ias appliedto a well known mechanical doublefbrick-fpress;

in these drawings :i

matic clay cutting" and conveying devices on the motor chassis-frame of such a bri ck- 5 I stationary, axle 13. v

press, fof which for sake of .clearness the I c "feed'hoppersonly have been illustrated;

F-ig. 21shows thecutter-frame applied to the front of the press for breaking down press of thei kind set forth hastwo hops pers2 and 3 suitablysupported on a frame 8 andflautomatically supplying the moulds V V or the weighing devices connected thereto respectively with clay. As hereinafter de, scribed,"the'plastic clay f or earth will be broughtinto the buckets 4 of an elevator'5,

the endless'bands or chains of which pass around two sprocket wheels 6 and '7 arrangedon the frame 8 of the machine. The I lowerjsprocket wheel, 7 is loose, whilst the upper sprocket wheel'6'is driven by driveshaft A cable or chain 9 is wound around et wheel 6 vas Well as around a second sprocket10rigidly connected with the driveshaft 1. *Arra'nged abovethe hopper 3is' the end of a chute or gutter 11, the other end of which is located adjacentthe sprocket wheel 6 in order to receive the clay discharged from the upsetting buckets ofthe elevator;

orfgutter 12 adaptedi lto be rotated: about a. ;.Said' axle '13 may be the suspension axle of the hopper '2. 1

Intermediate the ends thereof the gutter v I IQiS' -su pp'orte'd on the crank arm 14' ofa crank 15' attached" to? a sprocket '16, the latter being driven by the drive shaft through "a sprocket rigidly connectedwith' the sprock-- Ending above thefhopper 2 is a further'chute the agency of a chain 17 Upon eachrevolu tion of, the-driveshaft orthe sprocket16 respective'ly the gutter 12 will thus bew oved p n I from the full line position into the dotted .f

line position and vice-gy'ersa' ;P- in the full line entire mass'of clay dropping from the buckets upon the rotation of the" gutter 12 the same will uncover the gutter 11 (which now supplies the hopper 3) ,f atgthe same time 7 of a'single elevatorffor both hoppers 2 and position said gutter 1 2 will cover the staf I tionary gutter'11'andtherefore;receiveflthe I The clay cutting or winning device proper comprises a vertical rigid frame 18, arranged at the front of the brick-press at right angles to the plane of Fig. 1. The frame 18 has a number of transverse cutters 20 which are removably arranged on holders 19 under a certain cutting angle.

The frame 18 is suspended in the slot 21 formed in a lever 22 adapted to swing about the pivot 23 on the frame 8, said lever having a second slot '24, engaged by the pin of a crank arranged on the axle 26 of the sprocket 6.

()n the other hand the frame 18 carries on either side two (or more) rods 27 adapted to rotate at 35 and loosely arranged 011 the axles of the rollers 28, said axles being connected together by means of longitudinal bars 29 to form a rigid frame, which is vertically slid: able in guides 30 provided in the frame of the machine.

The rods 27 are rigidly connected to arms 31, each of which has an arcuate slot 32, the centre of which is located on the respectivepivotpin and which is engaged by a pin 33 on the frame 18. The frame formedby the longitudinal bars 29 extends with friction through a stationary block 34 which (by means of springs or the like) constitutes an adjustable brake for the vertical movements of the frame 29.

If in the upper position according to Fig. 1 of the'cutter' frame 18 it is supposed that the machine has just been moved forwardly as hereinafter described, the cutters 20 will be substantially in contact with the vertical wall 46 of the mass of clay. Now if the lever 22 is swung into the direction of the arrow, the entiredevice formed by the frame 18 -29 will have tendency to move downwardly in a vertical direction; however such downward movement would be useless, since the cutters 20 would merely slide along the wall of clay. Owing to the calculated resistance of the brake 34 the frame 29. will be moved more slowly than the frame 18 and the levers 27, 31 rotatably arranged on the. axles of the rollers 28, upon their downward movement, will causethe progressive substantially horizontal movement of the frame 18 towards the wall of clay, into which the cutters 20 will be inserted obliquely and moved at the same time downwardly, in order to cut down a layer of clay of a certain thickness. Upon tlic o pposite movement of the swinging lever, the frame 18 will first be m ved to the. left hand side, whereupon the entire device 1829 will be moved upwardly in a vertical direction, whereby the cutters 20 will be brought back into the position shown in Fig. 1, in order to permit the feeding movement of the machine and the movement of the cutters to- Wards thenew wall of clay.

The clay cut by theupper cutters will be ece d 11 1 Chute ext nd ng to he cups of the elevator in order to fill the same; the clay cut by the lower cutters or dropping from the chute or slide 36 respectively will drop upon the ground in front of the machine, whence it will be brought to the cups of the elevator by means of a metal plate 37 which is longitudinally inoval'ile in the frame and actuated by means of a rod 38, pivotally connected at one end to the plate 37, and at the opposite end to crank-arm arranged on the axle of the lower sprocket wheel 7. Upon the sliding moven'ient of the plate 37 on the ground in the direction of the arrow, the end 37 of said plate will slide under the clay cut by the lower cutters and bring the same below the casing 40 around the elevator.

The forward moven'ient of the entire machine will be effected by means of an endless chain, said forward movement being determined by the drive-shaft in such a way thatthe same will take place during the upward.

movement of the cutter frame 18.

Preferably the machine is provided. at the front with two metal plates 45 engaging the frame 18 and preventing clay from being sprayed laterally outside the frame 18 or the plates 36 and 37 respectively.

' The chutes 11 and 12 for supplying the hoppers 2 and 3 with clay may be replaced by well known endless bands, with distributing shovels.

Preferably the chutes 11 and. 12 as well as the elevator are housed within a casing in order to cover all the movable parts of the machine and avoid accidents.

It will be seen that the clay is cut down in the form of chips, whereby the regular weighing thereof for filling the moulds of the press, as well as the regular pressing thereof will be permitted. Owing to the cutting down in theform of thin chips, the superimposed layersof clay will be thoroughly mixed together and the products obtained will be of a uniform composition.

' Having now fully described my said invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

t 1. A device for cutting or breaking down clay for use in brick presses, comprising a drive shaft, feed hoppers for receiving the clay, a rigid frame carrying transverse cutters arranged one above. the other, means actuated by said drive-shaft for moving said frame laterally, toward the clay wall and then downwardly ina vertical direction, and means for conveying the clay into the feed hoppers.

2. A device for cutting or breaking down clay for use in brick presses, comprising a drive shaft, feed hoppers for receiving the clay, a rigid frame carrying transverse cutters arranged one above the other, means actuated by said drive-shaft for moving said frame laterally toward the clay wall and then downwardly in a vertical direction, an

ill

elevator for receiving the clay, and means for directing the clay from the elevator into the feed hoppers.

3. The combination of feed hoppers and a shaft, of a device for cutting or breaking down clay comprising a rigid frame carrying transverse cutters arranged above each other,

a beam adapted to swing about a fixed axle and having a suitable slot wherein said outter-frame is suspended, a crankmountedo'n the shaft and cooperating'with said beam to a swing the same,-a second rigid frame and means for guiding same in a vertical direction, said cutter-frame and'second rigid frame a being connected together bymeans of pivotallyattached rods,arms rigidly connected to I said pivotal rods, arcuate slots in said arms,

pins on the cutter frame engaging said arcuate slots, andan automatically operating device for conveying the clay intooneof the I feed-hoppers. I

; 4. The combination with feed hoppers and a drive-shaft, ofa device for cutting or breaking down clay comprising a rigid frame carrying transverse cutters arranged above each other, and meansfor moving sa1d frame first towards the wall of clay and next downwardly in a vertical direction, a stationary inclined metal plate adapted to receive the clay cut down by theupper cutters on said frame, and an elevator havinga series of buckets receiving the clay from said metal feed-hoppers, and means 'cforoperating said; 7 40 c.

plate, a horizontalfmetal-plate arranged below 'said'elevator and adapted to receive the clay cut down by the lower cutters, and means for reciprocating saidhorizontal plate along the ground, and an automatically operating device for conveying theclay into one of the device from the drive-shaft, y

' In testimony whereofI have hereuntoset my hand. i

' ,GASTON 

